In Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner of Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia, lies a vast, sparse forest of five-lobed maples—Wujiaofeng Scenic Area, one of the largest of its kind in Asia. While red leaves elsewhere are usually hidden deep in mountain valleys, the five-lobed maples here are scattered across rolling grasslands, growing alongside meadows—a rare spectacle of maple forest on the steppe.

Walking along the wooden boardwalk, fallen leaves are soft and rustle underfoot. Overhead, layers of red leaves catch the sunlight, casting dappled shadows. At peak season, a single tree can display deep red, orange-yellow, and pale yellow all at once—an entire autumn captured in one tree. The trail has a gentle gradient, taking about two hours in total, and along the way you can capture scenes of grassland, maple forest, and golden meadows interwoven together.

Best Photo Spots

Middle section of the boardwalk: The winding boardwalk threads through the meadow and maple forest alike. A telephoto lens here compresses the perspective, giving the maples real depth.

Viewing platform: From the top, you can look down over the entire sea of maples on the grassland. Thousands of trees in every shade of autumn spread across the boundless plain, with no mountains to block the view—the land stretches out wide and open.

Best time

Late September to mid-October is the golden viewing period. Peak season lasts only about a week. The light is softest before 9 a.m. and one to two hours before sunset.

As the sun sets, you can ride slowly through the maple forest. Red leaves drift onto the golden grassland, and the wind blows in from among the maples. This autumn journey is complete.